


close to you

by xandermin



Series: across the universe [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Mutual Pining, Open Ending, basically just two introspectives about keith and lance's feelings for each other, one from keith's pov and one from lance's pov, two pieces of pretentious prose
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-04
Updated: 2017-03-04
Packaged: 2018-09-28 05:40:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10074728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xandermin/pseuds/xandermin
Summary: they're in love with each other; that's how these things go





	

_keith_  
_about lance ;_

 

 

Affection was a rare guest in Keith’s mind.

When he saw Shiro again, affection felt like a knife in his stomach, and in the days that followed, every time he looked at his old friend it was as if someone twisted the hilt of the knife, driving it deeper. A foreign object that would surely cause an infection if he didn’t pull out the weapon and clean the wound.

He didn’t know what to do with it, this emotion that had felt so natural when he was little, but now it ate away at him like a parasite.

His body craved it, revelled in Shiro’s gentle hand on his shoulder, adored the feeling of Hunk’s arms around him, and happily cherished Pidge’s hand on his arm as the youngest paladin wanted his attention (why would anyone want his attention?). Even Coran and Allura’s stern hands made his body uneasy with emotion.

He craved it, yet despised it, needed it to survive, but recoiled at the thought.

The only one of his teammates who never really touched him was Lance. Of course they would touch when they trained, and they often got very close while bickering, but that was not the same. Everyone else would occasionally show Keith physical affection, but Lance did not. Lance would hug Pidge and Hunk, fist bump Shiro, wrap a casual arm around Coran’s shoulder, touch Allura’s arm – but never Keith.

He was grateful, but also oddly resentful. Because deep in the back of his mind, he wanted Lance’s touch, just as he wanted the touches of the other inhabitants of the castle. He didn’t like the feeling of being singled out.

And – as much as Lance irritated him and angered him beyond belief – Keith found himself growing fond of the blue paladin’s presence. Lance made everything brighter, lighter, bearable.

And then, Lance had almost died, and Keith acted purely on impulse as he offered his injured teammate his hand, and Lance had taken it, wrapped his slender fingers around Keith’s grip, and Keith had felt the warmth of Lance’s palm through their gloves, and they had looked at each other, and Lance was the most beautiful thing Keith had ever seen besides the picture of his birth mother, and his eyes were blue, blue like the ocean -

And then Allura said she wanted him in a healing pod, and Keith had tried to help him stand. For a moment, Lance managed to walk on wobbly legs, but then he had nearly fallen forward, his mind flickering on and off. Keith was exhausted, but he put his free arm behind Lance’s knees, and lifted him up until he was carrying him.

Lance had instinctively looped his sleepy arms around Keith’s neck. He let his head rest against Keith’s shoulder, and Keith was too tired to flinch, too tired to let his mind race. Instead, he held Lance close and carried him all the way to the infirmary, where Coran helped place him in one of the pods.

His neck felt cold without Lance’s arms there.

His stomach felt cold when Lance didn’t remember it.

Things returned to normal. Lance returned to being the only one who never intentionally touched Keith.

But now Keith knew.

He knew that Lance was the most beautiful person in the entire universe, and he couldn’t forget it, couldn’t force it out of his head as hard as he tried. Lance was a puzzle put together from wonderful pieces. His eyes, blue with small flecks of turquoise, his smile, wide and inviting and safe and gorgeous, his hair framing his ears, his body, so lanky, but with strong shoulders and a broad back – Keith couldn’t forget any of it, even if he were dead.

He found himself yearning to hold Lance again, to feel his arms around him; anchoring and safe.

But things continued, as they always had.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 _lance_  
_about keith ;_

 

Lance would recognize that mullet anywhere.

Because he’d spent hours staring at it from across the classroom, he’d watched it grow over their shared time at the Garrison, had watched as Keith’s cheekbones became more and more defined, as his jawline came forward, as his shoulders broadened.

Back then, he’d pushed it all aside, he’d told Hunk that they were rivals, he’d convinced himself that looking at Keith was okay, as long as he glared while doing it – lies.

It was all a load of bullshit and he knew it, knew it when he found himself missing the shorter boy, knew it when he snuck out with Hunk and Pidge and he flirted with the people that looked the least like Keith.

And he had gotten over it, he thought. After a year, his heart had filled out again, he could flirt with others without feeling guilty, he stopped automatically scanning the cafeteria for him.

But it had all come crashing down when he saw Keith again. The dark grey eyes that sometimes looked blue, sometimes looked violet, the strong brow and defined features, the grace with which he moved during combat, God fucking dammit, he’d never forgotten, and the hole in his heart opened all over again.

He’d recognize Keith anywhere.

But Keith didn’t feel the same, clearly didn’t feel the same, the words “Who are you?” were tattooed on the back of Lance’s head. Cargo pilot was all he was.

He didn’t have time to have deep thoughts about his emotions, he was sucked into the depths of space with Hunk, Pidge, Takashi Shirogane (of all people), and Keith, fucking Keith!

And Lance was angry at him, provoking him out of spite.

But then Keith had laughed with them as they stood handcuffed together at the dining table, and his eyes were practically gleaming, his cheeks flushed from smiling, and Lance swore this was what drowning felt like.

And then they talked! They actually spoke, conversed, shared words without any harshness, and Lance knew he was at the bottom of the ocean then. At the celebration with the arusians, he’d even managed to make Keith smile at one of his jokes.

And then Lance nearly died.

And then Keith held his hand and looked at him – only him – and his eyes had been … tender, tender and warm, and Lance was so happy he didn’t die because a moment later Keith was carrying him and Lance had his arms around Keith’s neck and he could smell Keith’s scent, and he tried so hard to stay awake, to remember every second of it, the sound of Keith’s breath, Lance swore there was no better place than there, in Keith’s arms.

Lance didn’t really know what had spurred him to lie, to say he didn’t remember. Left over resentment from Keith not remembering him as anything but a cargo pilot? Maybe that was a small part of it. But mostly, it was embarrassment, because he knew he wouldn’t be able to speak of it without flushing.

After that, Lance became addicted to Keith’s attention. Their arguments were less harsh now, but Lance still felt a deep set need to aggravate Keith because Keith would glare at him with those eyes.

He wanted …

Keith’s hand in his again.

So he held a certain distance. He wondered if Keith noticed; he always looked so taken aback and conflicted whenever the others touched him. And Lance tried to tell himself that he didn’t need to hug Keith, and he didn’t need to clap Keith on the back, or throw his arm across the red paladin’s shoulders, Keith wouldn’t want it anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> follow my tumblr @ [mcclaln](http://mcclaln.tumblr.com/)


End file.
